


Tornado

by Zatyadh



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Humor, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-23 22:23:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12517888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zatyadh/pseuds/Zatyadh
Summary: Tornados. Everything seems fine for a while, but then the wind starts to pick up and it gets louder and louder and faster and faster until you're watching as your home gets torn apart right in front of you.Max has been living with David for a few months now. No camp to worry about, no Cameron Campbell there to screw things up, Max was finally getting used to being with David. But, most importantly, who's that man standing in the driveway?





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a few months since David had become Max's guardian. Max was completely settled in David's home which was surrounded by large trees that consisted of pine, redwood, and spruce. It wasn't surprising when Max found out that he didn't actually live too far away from Camp Campbell. It was a twenty to thirty minute drive. He had a really nice view of the scenery, and Max wasn't going to deny that. Anyone with their right mind would know he got lucky to find a house like this. It was cozy, comfortable, peaceful. It had wooden flooring made with spruce trees, a large window to the side, behind Max's favorite dark blue-grey chair in the living room. The window showed the driveway, which was covered with soft grey gravel and whenever he was sitting in the chair, waiting for David to come back home, he could see when he'd carefully pull into the driveway- making sure he didn't accidentally run over any of the fragile plants in the garden that he'd worked so hard on. In the mornings, there were loud birds flying around everywhere, which did annoy Max for the first month, but he got used to it. Especially because David would wake him up at around seven thirty in the morning almost every day. The only times he wouldn't wake him up that early is when they stayed up late together making pastries or watching a few movies. David claimed that he made sure Max got at least seven hours of sleep every day.

Max was lazily sitting on the couch as David went out to get the mail. He let out a small yawn and stretched as David came in.

"Is someone tired?" David joked, talking in a baby voice.

"In your dreams, David," Max scoffed, rolling his eyes, but letting a small smile drift onto his face. His gaze drifted down to the pure white envelope in David's hand. He tilted his head. "What's that?" He asked, motioning to the envelope.

David looked down at his hand, "Oh! You mean this?" He lifted the envelope to get a better look at it, only to have a frown appear on his face. "I think it's a letter?"

"A letter from who?" Max said, a little too quickly.

"I don't know," David hesitated, his smile quickly coming back to him. "But I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

Max hummed, shrugging it off and looking out the window. David had a TV, but there wasn't really anything to watch. Plus, David wouldn't let Max change it from the nature channel, so there was no use in watching it in general.

David made his way to the chair next to the couch and started opening the envelope, making sure he didn't accidentally rip it completely. He bit his lip in concentration as he slowly opened it. Max deadpanned as he listened to the noise of the paper for about a minute before grabbing the envelope from him and carelessly ripping it open. David gasped and Max handed it back to him. David pouted and pulled out a folded piece of paper and opened it, reading whatever was written inside of it. Max watched as David's expression darkened and his face visibly paled. He knit his eyebrows.

"Hey, David?" He started, tone dripping with concern. "Are you okay?"

David didn't answer, he just read and re-read the letter over and over. He abruptly stood up, keeping his attention on the letter. Max tried to see what was written through the paper, but he couldn't make anything out. The only thing he could make out, however, was that it was a short sentence located in the exact middle of the paper. He scrunched up his nose and looked back at David. David didn't look to good. He looked like he was going to be sick, Max couldn't understand why. How could a single sentence be that bad?

David started chuckling and shook his head, crumpling the paper into a tight ball, letting his bright smile appear on his face once again. "Everything's a-okay!"

"Are you sure about that?" Max said, majorly unconvinced.

"Of course I'm sure! I think it's just some advertisement, or something," David said, waving his hands around as he speaks.

"That was way too short to be an advertisement," Max replied bluntly.

David's smile falters for a second and he tenses. "What do you mean?"

"You know that thing where you can see the words to something through the paper because of the lighting?" Max said, quickly adding to the thought before David could respond. "I did that. I couldn't read what was written though, I could only make out the length. Whatever secret is written on there is safe. For now, at least," Max finished, muttering the last part. David didn't need to know that Max was planning to look at it while he wasn't paying attention.

David let out a breath of air and let himself relax- but not too much.

-

David was finally asleep. Max could finally find out what that letter said. All he had to do was find it. He searched through the recycling bin with a flashlight first. Once he realized it wasn't in there, he looked around the kitchen, looking for a good spot David might've hid it.

"This is David we're talking about," he muttered to himself. "He couldn't have hid it very well."

Max looked through most of the drawers before accidentally shutting one a little too loudly as he was moving on to the next. He jumped and cringed at the sound as he waited for any sign of footsteps. Once he was pretty sure David was fast asleep, he turned away from the door and quietly opened another drawer.

"Max, what're you doing," David yawned from the doorway. Max let out a yelp and quickly slammed the drawer shut, spinning around to face David.

"Dad- _David_ ," Max yelled, quickly correcting himself. "I said David!"

David's eyes widened and a goofy grin spread across his face, making him look ten times happier than he usually looked, he covered his grinning mouth.

"Did you just call me _Dad_?" He gushed

Max violently shook his head, "N-No, I definitely remember saying David."

David giggled happily, "Are you sure about that? I don't think you're sure."

"Jesus fucking Christ, David, I didn't say _Dad_ ," Max stated, his face starting to heat up with embarrassment. "I think you need to get your ears checked, you're starting to become an old man." Max's voice was progressively getting quieter, as he crossed his arms and looked away from the beaming ray of sunshine that is David. "Fuckin'.... Oldie," he muttered.

"Watch your language, Max," David beamed, still grinning happily. Max groaned in exasperation. "Anyways," David started, toning down his smile slightly. "What're you doing in the kitchen at," he trailed off, looking at the clock, and squinting at it to see what it says through the blanket of darkness. Max shined his flashlight at it and David frowned, looking back at him. "What're you doing in the kitchen at twelve thirty six in the morning?"

"Midnight snack?" Max said, though it sounded more like a question than it did an answer.

"Why? Did you not eat enough yesterday?" David asked, quickly kneeling in front of him, expression filled with worry.

"No, No," Max said quickly, waving his hands. "I had _plenty_ to eat yesterday! Trust me."

David hummed and straightened up after studying his face to see if he was lying. "If you say so. Do you want me to make you something?"

"Oh, you know what! _I'm suddenly not hungry anymore,_ " Max said quickly, tensing up and laughing awkwardly. "You know, I'm actually _really_ tired, I'm gonna go to bed now, have a good night, Da- _David_ ," Max finished, catching himself before he said anything that would make David too happy. Max rushed off into his room, which was a nice soft blue, and flopped onto his bed, burying his face into his pillow. That was too close. _Way_ too close. He let out a sigh and decided that now wouldn't be the best time to look for the paper now that David was probably suspicious of him. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but he couldn't shake off a feeling of dread. He rolled over on his back and stared at the ceiling. He knitted his eyebrows and closed his eyes again, but he couldn't keep them closed. He didn't feel tired, he felt... _Afraid_. What was he afraid of? What caused him to feel so _unsafe_? Now that he thought about it, he felt as though he was being watched. He shot up and looked around his dark room, eyes wide. He felt the pace if his heart quicken and his face flush as his eyes darted around his room, searching for something that wasn't there. He even thought he saw his closet door crack open slightly, he snapped his attention to the door and squinted his eyes. His eyes were just playing tricks on him, his closet was closed. It was exactly where he left it. He gulped and built up the courage to get off his bed and find David. He braced himself and quickly slid off the bed and opened his door to see David walking past it, using his phones flashlight to guide him. David jumped and nearly screamed when he saw the door swing open. He looked down at Max and he was instantly filled with worry.

"Max?" David said in disbelief. "Why are you still awake?"

"Still? What do you mean _still_? It's been, like," Max pondered for a second. "Five minutes since you last saw me. I don't fall asleep that quickly."

David knitted his eyebrows. "It's been half an hour."

" _What_ ," Max said. He was stunned. He could've sworn it had only been five minutes at max.

"Max, are you feeling alright?" David asked. Max pursed his lips as his eyes darted around. David kneeled down and rested his hands on both of Max's cheeks. "You look terrified."

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Max blurted, instantly covering his mouth once he finished. David's eyes widen as he looked at Max in shock. "I can't sleep, I feel like someones watching me in there," he added quickly.

"Watching you?" David said, voice full of worry. He let go of Max's face and stood up, walking past him into his room and taking a quick look around. He felt different in there, that's for sure. He flicked the light switch on, wincing when the bright light reached his eyes. He un-scrunched his face, and blinked repeatedly, trying to get used to the light as soon as possible. He looked around Max's room carefully, making sure not to miss anything suspicious.

"Hey, uh, David," Max said, watching him intently. "I feel like you're being a little more overprotective than usual."

"Nonsense! I'm just as overprotective as usual," David replied with a cheery tone. Max sensed a little hint of anxiousness within it, though. He's gotten better at detecting those little changes in David's tone in the past few months he's been living with him.

"Right," Max muttered under his breath as David turned off the light and closed the door.

"You can sleep with me tonight. I can put a pillow in between us so that you're more comfortable with sleeping in the same bed," David said, it sounded solemn, but Max decided not to ask a question he wasn't going to get answer to. He just nodded and followed David into his room.

Max waited patiently as David turned on the light and placed a long pillow in the middle of the large bed. Once David was finished setting up, Max climbed up on the bed and lied down, facing away from David's side of the bed. He closed his eyes as the light turned off and drifted into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey, Max, wake up!” Max heard David say excitedly. “It’s the start if a brand new day!”

Max groaned and rolled away from David, “Five more minutes.”

“C’mon sleepyhead! Wake up!” David said, still sounding excited, but his voice was low, making sure he didn’t disturb Max too much. He shook Max’s shoulder.

“No, leave me alone,” Max replied groggily, not opening his eyes.

David pouted, “I made coffee for you.”

Max shot up and looked at David, “You made me coffee?”

David nodded and Max grinned happily and hopped out of the bed and stumbled into the kitchen to find a hot mug of coffee sitting on the counter, steam drifting upwards from it, signalling that it was hot as _fuck_. Max grabbed the handle of the mug and blew on the surface of the light brown liquid. He looked in the cup for a couple minutes, glancing up at David- who stood in the doorway, watching him- and taking a small sip, and nearly spitting it out, it was still hot.

“Careful,” David warned.

“God, thanks for the warning, I have no idea what I would’ve done without it,” Max scoffed, rolling his eyes. David chuckled and Max blew on it again and took another sip from the mug. It was still hot, but cool enough for him to drink safely. He finished the coffee within a minute at most and set the mug in the sink.

“Thanks, David,” Max said, turning to him and smiled softly.

“Of course, anything for you,” David said, smiling back at him. It wasn’t like his usually Cheshire Cat smile, it was softer, sweeter than that. David pushed himself off the doorframe and looked through the window in the living room.

A man dressed in a black turtleneck, black jeans, black everything. David took note of the gun at his side.The man had a twisted grin plastered across his face. David’s face flushed, he closed the curtains, rushed into the kitchen where Max was, and lifted him up over his shoulder, taking him to David’s closet.

”David! What the hell?!” Max yelped, falling backwards in the closet.

“Max, listen to me _very_ closely, do _not_ make a sound and do _not_ come out of this closet no matter what.” David took out his phone from his pocket and put it in Max’s hands. “You’ll know when to call the police. I trust you.” David kissed the top of Max’s head. “You’re a good kid, Max. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“What? David-“ Max was cut off by the sound of a door slamming open from the living room. “What was th-“ Max was cut off yet again by David putting his finger to Max’s lips to tell him to be quiet. Max knitted his eyebrows.

“I love you Max,” David muttered and shut the closet door, blocking it with something. Max’s face flushed as he heard muffled talking from David and an unknown deep voice. The muffled talking quickly turned into shouting, Max covered his ears and shut his eyes, trying to block out the shouting, but he couldn’t block out the loud banging noise that he knew too well. It was a gun. He heard a lot of them when Campbell made his occasional visits to camp. He felt tears rush down his face-he started blinking rapidly and he felt his heart speed up. It went completely quiet. He removed his hands from his ears and tried to push the door open. It didn’t take him too long to be able to push it open enough for him to slip through. David had put one of the sofa chairs from the corner of the room in front of the door. He walked into the living room, David's phone in his hand and braced himself for the worst. He couldn’t see anyone. Not yet, at least. He felt adrenaline course through his body as he searched for at least a sign of David. And that’s exactly what happened. He went around to the opposite side of the couch and was met with the terrible sight of a dead David lying on the floor on his back, a look of terror frozen on his face, and a bleeding bullet hole in the middle of his chest. Max’s legs felt weak as he brought up David's phone and dialed 911 and put the phone to his ear.

“911, what’s your emergency?” A woman on the other side of the line asked, her voice high pitched.

“Someone killed my dad,” Max said simply, his voice shaking.

“Can you tell me where you live?” The woman asked quickly. It was a very stereotypical phone call. He told her the address, she told him that the police were on their way, and she volunteered to stay on the call with him, but he politely declined and hung up the phone, never taking his eyes off of David's dead body. He sniffled and wiped his face with his arm. He never even changed out of his pajamas.

He saw a crumbled piece of paper lying next to David's arm and he leaned down and picked it up. It was the same paper David hid yesterday. His heart was pounding as he forced himself to flatten out the paper. He was greeted with the single sentence in the middle.

 

 

_“I_ _told you I’d get you back, Davey.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you notice something off about the characters, please tell me! If I don't get their personalities right, it would bother my for eternity.


	3. Chapter 3

Max was sitting in a fairly uncomfortable wooden chair with an ugly, old-looking floral pattern on the cushion. He was fidgeting with his fingers as he looked in his lap, being sure not to make eye contact with either of the people in the room with him.

“Kid, we need you to cooperate with us,” The muscular officer said softly. He had stubble growing on his swarthy skin. His black hair was starting to grey and it pointed upwards, like it wasn’t long enough to slick back entirely.

“Well, have you actually thought about how I might be affected by this?” Max blurted out angrily.

“Please, calm down,” The same officer said. “We don't want you getting too riled up.”

“ _Too riled up?_ Are you serious?” Max boomed, standing up and waving his arms around as he spoke. “My dad’s just _died_ and your main concern is not to comfort me in the slightest way, but take me to an _interrogation room?”_ Max became an angry, rambling mess. He crouched and put his arms around the back of his head, staring wide-eyed at the floor, tears streaming down his face and dripping onto the floor, his eyes became bloodshot and puffy.

The officers exchanged glances and the man stepped forward, kneeling down and resting his hand on Max’s back. “We’ll wait until you feel better about talking about it.”

That didn’t comfort Max in the slightest. He wished David was here with him and… not dead. This is what he gets for loving someone too much. He gets hurt and a void re-enters his heart, filling it with a sense of emptiness. He wished he could fill that void with _something._ He just didn’t know what.

God, why did David have to die on him? Why couldn’t he just be happy with someone for once, why couldn’t he just be with a normal family for _once_ in his short lifespan. He quickly straightened up and turned towards the desk in the middle of the room.

“GOD _DAMMIT,_ ” He yelled, kicking it with all his might. He covered his face and erupted into a sobbing mess. The officer tried comforting him again, but Max forcefully pushed him away every time he got close. “ _DON'T TOUCH ME!_ ”

“Please, let me help you,” The officer pleaded.

“ _NO!_ I want David back, I want my _DAD_ _BACK_ ,” Max wailed.

The officer gave him an empathetic look, “Is there someone we can call who you’d be more comfortable with?”

Max sniffled and wiped his face with his sleeve and uttered a single word. “Gwen…”

“I’m sorry?” The officer said, moving closer to be able to hear him better.

“I want Gwen..” Max muttered again.

“Do you know her number?”

“It’s in David’s phone,” Max said, pulling out the phone and looking at it solemnly.

“You can call her. We’ll get out of the room to give you some peace.” The officer said, patting Max’s back and straightening up, walking to the other officer next to the door and leading her out, closing the door behind them.

Max turned the phone on to be greeted with multiple notifications covering David's lock screen of a tall oak tree that was probably taken by David himself. Gwen texted David’s phone, even attempting to call him, but to no avail since David’s dead and Max had shut the phone off completely. He took a breath of air and called Gwen, it didn’t even ring, seeing as Gwen picked up immediately.

“ _DAVID!_ DO YOU _REALIZE_ HOW WORRIED I WAS?!” Gwen bellowed into the phone, causing Max to jerk the phone away from his ear and making the void in his heart ten times larger hearing David's name come out of Gwen's mouth. She didn’t know.

“Gwen… This is Max,” Max managed to say, not bothering to hide the shakiness within his voice.

“Max? Did you steal David’s phone _again?”_ Gwen replied, sounding like her usual tone he was so used to hearing from her. She didn’t bother to notice the shakiness in his voice.

“N-No.. Um.. David gave me his phone,” Max said, trying to break it to her slowly, making sure he didn’t break down himself in the process.

“David gave you his phone? Did he get a new one?”

“No, he… I don't think a dead person would find a phone very useful,” Max said. The line was silent for a minute.

“Is this some sort of sick joke?” Gwen said angrily.

“No, it's not, Gwen.. David’s,” Max choked up, not being able to say it. “He’s dead.” The line was dead silent, he checked if the call was still going. It was. He placed it back to his ear. “Gwen, I know-I know this is a lot to take in-“

“Where are you?” Gwen interrupted.

“What?”

“Where. Are. You.” She repeated, sounding both desperate and frustrated.

“I’m at the police station.”

“I’m on my way,” She replied bluntly and hung up.

Max took the phone away from his ear and looked at the screen blankly. Gwen was coming _here_. If David knew that he was going to die, which it really seemed like he did, why didn’t he tell Gwen before? Why didn’t he try harder to stay alive? What did he last say to Gwen?

Max went to the messages and pressed on the conversation with Gwen. He had to scroll up a lot to be able to get to their last conversation, Gwen was really worried about him, and with good reason. He _was_ dead, after all. He scrolled passed messages upon messages of Gwen trying to get a response, trying to get _something_. Max noticed before that she left a few voicemails, but he didn’t bother listening to Gwen desperately yell into the phone. He finally made it to their last conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I might upload two chapters today... Not sure though..


	4. Chapter 4

12:02 AM

Gwen: hey, david, you still awake?

David: As awake as I’ll ever be!

David: What’s up Gwen?

Gwen: i dont really know, i just kinda wanted to talk to someone and youre the only one I know that would be up this early

 

Max scrunched up his nose. He thought David went to bed at, like, eight o’ clock. He continued to read, feeling a pain in his chest whenever he read David’s side of the conversation.

 

David: Fair point

David: You can vent about a show you like?

David: Just a suggestion, though

Gwen: You know what, david

Gwen: this is why we’re friends

Gwen: i could rant about something for hours and you’d just listen to me

Gwen: Thanks

David: Aw, Gwen! that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me!

David: You’re not drunk or anything, right?

Gwen: no, David, I really mean it. Even if i was drunk, it would still be the truth

David: AWW, Gwen!! You should let your nice side come out more often!

Gwen: Don’t push it

David: Right! 

David: Sorry

Gwen: we need to meet up soon so i can teach you to stop saying sorry so often

David: Yeah, we haven't hung out for a while, it would be refreshing to see your happy face again!

Gwen: Don’t make me regret saying that, David

David: Of course, of course

David: We could meet up somewhere at sometime on Saturday?

David: It’s really the only day I trust Max to be alone by himself

Gwen: There’s just something about Saturdays that just make you want to leave your problems behind

 

Max scoffed lightly, but an almost nonexistent smile made its way onto his face, he never realized how much he missed Gwen. He never actually thought he’d  _ ever  _ miss Gwen in a million years, but, that assumption was proven to be completely wrong.

 

David: Gwen!

David: That was rude!

David: I heard something in the kitchen, i'll be right back

Gwen: Bring a baseball bat

Gwen: If it’s a robber, smash his brains

David: It was just Max

Gwen: Smash his brains!

 

Max frowned as his eyes stung. He remembered this. He never realized that David might’ve been talking to someone at such a time. He sighed and forced himself to keep reading. He’s made it this far, so he might as well just read the entire thing.

  
  


David: GWEN! NO!

David: I’m not going to harm anyone, especially Max.

Gwen: Ugh

Gwen: Fine

Gwen: I think it’s time i went to bed

Gwen: I’ll see you on Saturday?

David: Definitely!

David: Sleep well, I’ll see you then!

 

Max wiped his watering eyes. Those plans were made on Thursday. It’s strange reading a conversation as tame as that, just  _ knowing  _ that David would die about  _ nine hours later _ . 

The door slammed open, making a loud disturbance in the quiet room. Max yelped and flinched and shut his eyes at the noise. The next thing he knew, he was enveloped in a tight, warm hug. He opened to see a familiar woman kneeling down to his height and hugging him. It was Gwen. Her shoulders were shaking, Max assumed she was crying, and soon, tears of his own began trailing down his face and he quickly hugged back, equitably as tightly. Gwen was a silent crier, she only made the occasional sobbing noise that proved to Max that she was even crying. He tried to comfort her by rubbing her back, but he’s never had to comfort someone before.

“I’m so sorry, Max,” She muttered, pulling away from the hug, keeping one of her hands on his shoulder as the other wipes away the tears that had been trailing down her face. Max couldn’t seem to find his voice. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out, he realized he wasn’t going to be able to say anything, so he looked at the ground, not bothering to wipe away his wet tears. Gwen did it for him. She brought her hand up to his cheeks and gently wiped away the tears. Her skin was soft, it reminded him of a cotton blanket. Or soft like the blue sweater he always wears. Gwen opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the door gently opening. Max looked over Gwen's shoulder and glared at the same officer he spoke to a little while ago. He walked over to the table, placed his hands on top of it, and leaned on his arms for support. As the door was closing, Max got a glimpse of a man facing away from him. He had dark brown hair and, from what he could tell, pale skin. Max shook off the feeling of sudden dread and looked back at the officer in front of him.

“We’ve given you as much time as we could manage,” The officer started. “But to be able to find out who the murderer is.”

Gwen looked at Max and mouthed something at him, ‘Murderer?’

Max nodded and Gwen’s frown deepened. She had probably assumed that David had gotten into an accident of some sort, but definitely not something as big as murder. Who would even have such a grudge against him?

“I’m not going to be much help,” Max said.

“And why is that?” The officer asked, raising an eyebrow.

“David locked me in his closet right before it happened. I didn’t see anything.”

“Okay,” the officer pondered for a second. “Did you hear anything?”

“I heard an argument. It was difficult to make out, but I can remember his voice,” Max explained. The officer nodded and motioned for him to go on. “It was deep and..” Max looked for the right words. “Raspy? I don't really know how else to explain it..” Max finished, trailing off.

“So, deep and raspy, huh?” The officer said, running a hand through his hair. Max hummed in response. “This is the last question. How was David acting before the murder? Or, if you know, when did this all start?”

Max looked down. “He got a letter in the mail,” Max started, reaching his hand into his pocket and feeling the crumpled piece of paper. “He was acting weird after he read it.”

“Do you know what it said?” The officer asked expectantly.

“It said, ‘I told you I’d get you back, Davey,’” Max responded, continuing to look at the floor. Gwen gasped and covered her mouth. Gwen and Max exchanged a knowing look.

The officers gaze trailed to Max’s pocket, the one he had his hand in, “Do you have it with you? The handwriting could be a big hint to who it is.”

Max looked away from Gwen and took out the piece of paper. He silently stared at it.

The officer cleared his throat and Max looked up at him. He was holding his hand out expectantly. Max pursed his lips and hesitantly handed him the piece of paper.

“Uh, officer,” Max said as the officer studied the paper and hummed to acknowledge the fact that he was speaking. “I think I might have an idea of who did it.”

The officer tore his concentration from the single sentence and looked at Max. “You do? Can you tell me?”

Max nodded and took a deep breath. “I think is was a man named Cameron Campbell. You might’ve heard of him.”

A look of realization overcame the officer's face, but was quickly replaced with slight confusion. “We arrested that man. There’s no way he could’ve killed David from prison.”

“Well, maybe it wasn’t exactly him,” Max said quickly. “Like, it  _ wasn’t _ technically him, but it  _ was  _ him.”

“I’m… Sorry?”

“Like, you know, that thing where a guy pays another guy to kill a person of his choosing?” Max explained, using multiple hand gestures to try and get his point across. “I’ve seen it in movies..”

“He’s talking about a hitman,” Gwen interfered.

“Yeah! That thing!” Max said, looking at Gwen in relief.

“Campbell must’ve had a grudge with David for a long time for him to be able to hire a hitman,” The officer stated skeptically.

“Yes, exactly!” Max exclaimed. 

“Campbell did show signs of some sort of hatred towards David on parents day. Maybe he managed to get away from everyone and made a call,” Gwen piped up. Max smiled brightly at her. She seemed surprised to see him smile, but she soon softly smiled back at him. 

The officer seemed to ponder for about a minute. “We’ll take this into consideration. If we talk to him, I’ll be sure to notify you about it.”

Max nodded, but quickly frowned. “Where am I gonna stay?

“I found a foster home you can stay at.”

“ _ Foster home? _ ”

“Yes, the woman is extremely nice. She’ll be able to take care of you for the time being.”

Max couldn’t argue with him, and he wasn’t going to force Gwen into taking care of him. If she hadn’t volunteered yet, she was most likely never going to. She had her own things going on and he didn’t want to be a distraction. He sighed and looked at the ground. Gwen pursed her lips, but stayed quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, another chapter


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter today, sorry!  
> I'll probably post another one

“I’ll take you back to David’s house so you can pack your things. Once you’re finished there, I’ll be taking you to the foster home,” The officer said, trying to break the depressing silence that had consumed the atmosphere.

“Officer Sullivan,” Said a man, bursting into the room, panting. Max recognized him as the man he saw a little earlier in the hallway. His dark brown hair was draping over his face in a messy manner. His eyes were a soft hazel. Max observed him. The man looked familiar, like he’d seen him before from _somewhere_ , but something was off about him. Like when you see a friend you’ve known for so long with a new haircut. The man they were talking to, Officer Sullivan, spun around to face the man.

“What is it,” Sullivan asked flatly.

“I was wondering if I could speak to our _special guest_ really quickly?” He said, smiling at Max. Max shrunk bad slightly. His smile was unsettling.

Sullivan huffed and glanced at Max and reluctantly nodded his head at the mystery man. “Fine, but not for too long.”

The mans smile turned into a wide, menacing grin, “Yes, of course, it won't take too long.”

Max frowned, his gaze switching between the two, “I-um… Can I know his name?”

“Oh, of course! You need to feel safe! My name is Damien,“ The man said, putting his hand on his chest and bowing slightly. Max nodded slowly and skeptically. A feeling of deja vu overwhelmed his system. He hesitantly walked towards him.

Damien placed his hand on Max’s back, leading him out of the room. He led Max through multiple different hallways before opening a door and motioning for him to enter. Once Max walked through the doorway he was greeted with a neat and bland looking office. Multiple different shades of grey were scattered around the room. The floor was the same dark grey carpet as the rest of the building. There was a desk in the corner, it was a wooden, light grey desk with red solo party cups scattered on the smooth surface and topped with a fancy looking computer. There were a few light grey- almost white- shelves on the walls covered with photos with white frames and a few more red solo party cups.

Damien entered and gently closed the door behind him, walking over to the chair; the only thing that wasn’t some form of grey. It was a simple black office chair. He sat down and rolled over so he was in front of Max. “I’m very sorry to hear about what happened to your _dear father_ today,” He said, a vague grin on his face. Does this guy _ever_ stop smiling?

“Yeah, me too,” Max muttered, looking away.

“It seems to me that you’re quite comfortable with that woman in there,” Damien said cautiously.

“Yeah, she went to the same camp as me and David. What’s your point?”

“I think she might be adopting you sometime soon.”

“I’m pretty sure if she wanted to become my guardian, she would’ve volunteered by now,” Max said, rolling his eyes.

Damien rested his elbows on his legs and rested his chin on his palms, and innocent look on his face. “I’m sure that’s not true. She just needs time.”

“Yeah, whatever. Is this what you took me in here to talk about? Cause, I’m pretty sure we could’ve had this same conversation in the hallway.” Max said, aggravated.

Damien grinned and chuckled lightly. “Oh! Right, of course, the _hallway.”_ His grin vaguely started to look more like a grimace. Max stepped away, but Damien moved closer, so it did him no good. “ _Yes_ , I _could’ve_ spoken to you in the hallway, but I feel it’s more secure in here. More safe. More _pure_.”

“ _Pure?_ ” Max questioned, tilting his head.

“Pure?” Damien repeated.

“You said it was ‘more pure’” Max stated, making air quotes.

“I don't recall,” Damien responded, trailing off slightly.

“What do you mean ‘you don't recall’? You clearly said it.”

“Your ears must be playing tricks on you,” Damien said, his smile plastered across his face. “I’ve never said pure _once_ in this conversation.”

“You’re a liar-“ Max said, being cut off by Damien shushing him and abruptly standing up.

“Well, _Max,_ I’m afraid we’ve run out of time,” He said, spinning Max around to face the door, opening it, and urging him out. “You have to leave.”

“I don't know how to get back!” Max yelped.

“Down the hall, to the left, first right, yada yada, stuff like that,” Damien said lightly pushing him out of the room. Max turned to him and looked him in the eyes. He got a subtle glimpse of a third colour within them. He didn’t have time to be able to say something about it because the door had slammed shut once he opened his mouth. He turned toward the hallway and knit his eyebrows. How could there be a third colour? He shook his head and blamed it on the way the light was hitting Damien's eyes and started aimlessly walking down the bland hallway.


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

Max gazed tiredly out the car window. Sullivan, the officer he’d met not too long ago was driving him back to David's house to grab everything he needed. He sniffled and wiped the upcoming tears forming in his eyes as they pulled into the driveway, the sound of tires against the loose rocks brought him back to all those times he waited for David to come back home from the town. He’d wait there silently, sometimes wander around the house and, occasionally, outside as well. He’d listen to all the different kinds of birds chirping and the sound of the trees; and he’d listen to the leaves fluttering in the wind. It was actually really calming. He kind of wished he’d listened to it more often at camp, since it was in the middle of pure nature, there would be a lot more sounds of nature drifting about— but, it wasn’t like he’d be able to get away from all of the yelling and swearing of the camp. You’d be able to hear David screaming from the other side of the earth.

 _Then why didn’t you hear it this time?_ A voice rang in the back of his head as he held his shaking hand over the doorknob. He pushed that thought in the way back of his head. He wasn’t going to deal with that right now.

He forced himself to turn the doorknob and step into living room- the room David was murdered in. The room in which David met his fate. The room he bled out in as Max just stood and stared, too shocked to work properly. The sight of David's lifeless body resting on the floor, a horrified expression frozen on his face until someone morphed it to look like he was at peace. David wasn’t at peace when he died, he was _mortified_ . Someone shouldn’t have to die as painfully as he did. But Max couldn’t do anything about it. He knew one of the reasons why David was so scared. It was because of him. David was scared for Max’s _safety._ He just wished he could tell David that he didn’t die in pain for nothing. He wished so _badly_ to be able to tell him that he was okay, that everything was okay. But he’d be lying not only to David, but to himself as well. Nothing was okay in this depressing rock everybody liked to call “home.” This wasn’t home. This was an oversized grave and everyone “living” on it are the corpses, everyone was going to die, it was just a matter of time. Sometimes, people die too early, and in other cases, people die too late. Sometimes, people will outlive their friends _and_ their family. In most cases, only their family. At least _someone_ would be affected by their death; _Someone_ cares; _Someone_ will be at your funeral; And that _someone_ might not be able to bear the pain of knowing that _you’re gone_ . _Forever._

By the time he was jolted out of his thoughts, he realized he was standing in the spot he stood when he realized David was dead. There was a blood stain on the floor. As Max was regaining his senses, he felt a warm, wet sensation on his cheeks. He reached a shaking hand up to his cheek. They were, in fact, completely drenched with tears. He quickly wiped them away. He forced himself to walk away from the blood stain and into his room. The last time he was in here, he felt a massive feeling of paranoia. He _still_ felt massive paranoia. He huffed and began searching his room for the cause, he looked under his bed, out the window, in his closet, and, finally, on his shelves. He pushed everything on the shelf to the side and caught sight of something he’d never seen there before. He picked up the small, black object and held it in his hand.

It was a small camera.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little heads up, chapters might take a little longer to come out because what you're currently reading was pre-written, I guess.  
> But, when that time comes where the chapters are slower to be released, I want you to know that I AM working on it and if I decide to give up for whatever reason, I WILL say so!


	7. Chapter 7

He turned the camera around and pressed the button to stop it from recording. His face grew hotter with upcoming anger.

Someone planted a camera in his room. Someone was  _ spying  _ on him. His breath quickened as he became overwhelmed with anger. Anger that he’d hidden deep within himself for as long as he can remember. Not the kind of anger he had at camp, god no. This was something much worse. Something he’d developed from his parents. He squeezed the camera and hurled it towards the other side of the room. It crashed onto the wall, and broke upon impact with a loud bang.

Officer Sullivan rushed into the room to find Max crouched down, sobbing into his hands. He kneeled down next to him and placed a hand on his back, causing Max to flinch away. 

“What do you want,” Max muttered, glaring at him.

“I heard a noise and came in to see if you were alright,” Sullivan said softly.

“Yeah, right, like you care,” Max scoffed, looking away from him. 

“Of course I care,” Sullivan claimed, eyes widening, “Why wouldn’t I care?”

“Because nobody else does,” Max choked up, looking at the floor solemnly.

“Didn’t David care about you?”

Max stayed silent for a while. “He might’ve, but he’s dead now, isn’t he?”

Sullivan couldn’t find the right words to say. He opened and closed his mouth, deprately searching for the right thing to say. What were you supposed to say to something like that? ‘Everything’s going to be okay,” “He may be dead, but he’s alive in our hearts,” “He’s watching over you.”

None of that would help, and Sullivan knew that. How can a kid, barely at the age of ten, have such a corrupted mind? Who did this to him?

Max sighed and stood up, grabbing his duffel bag and heading to the closet. He began forcefully pulling the clothes off of their hangers and into his bag. He was mumbling to himself, but Sullivan decided to let him be. He stood up and carefully watched Max to make sure he didn’t try to do anything that could harm himself. 

Once he’d gotten all of his shirts and sweaters from his closet, he moved on to his dresser, spared a quick glance in Sullivan's direction, and began pulling things out— about three items a time, maybe more. 

Once he was finished packing his clothes and a few objects from his shelves, including a small beat up stuffed bear from the floor, quickly shoving it in his bag. He stood in front of Sullivan and pulled the strap over his head and onto his shoulder. “We should go now.”

“Of course,” Sullivan started. “I’m just going to let you know that the car ride is going to take a while, so feel free to fall asleep any time and however long you want.”

“Oh, great, so I can sleep forever, then,” Max replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Sullivan sighed and started walking to the front door, Max following close behind, stopping for a moment next to the blood stain on the ground, muttering, _ “I’m sorry, Dad.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Spoopy Day! Stay safe, don't get murdered and, most importantly, don't take any kool-aid from strangers!


	8. Chapter 8

Sullivan wasn’t wrong. The car ride was about two hours of doing nothing and listening to whatever stupid songs they play on the radio. Max managed to fall asleep a couple times, but he was only able to stay unconscious for about thirty minutes in total. He couldn’t get the image of David lying dead on the floor, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to for a  _ very  _ long time. It was around noon. Once the car parked, Max unbuckled his seatbelt, opened his door, and slid out of his seat, pulling his duffel bag along with him. He shut the door and let his expression go blank.

He walked behind Sullivan up to the door of the old, dark brown, house. It was about two stories and had a Victorian sort of look to it. It even had a gate at the entrance of the driveway that Sullivan had to push open himself.

A middle aged woman opened the door. She had a few grey strands visible in her black hair that was pulled into a messy bun. She looked tired, there were small bags under her eyes. Her gaze switched from Sullivan to Max multiple times.

“Is this Max?” She asked softly, a kind smile gracing her features. Max shrunk back behind Sullivan.

“It sure is,” Sullivan said, smiling and looking at Max, “Why don't you introduce yourself?”

Max pursed his lips and shook his head, shrinking further behind Sullivan.

“It’s okay, I heard about what happened, and I’m sure you’re uncomfortable with meeting new people right now, but I’m sure you’ll get used to it quickly,” The woman said, smiling, “In fact, I think we might have someone that you know.”

“Do you?” Max asked sarcastically.

“Yes, he’s mentioned you a few times,” The woman put her finger to her chin, “I believe he knows you from a summer camp?”

“Oh no,” Max grumbled under his breath. 

“Anyways, my name is Sadie,” She said, moving aside to let him in, “you can come on in.”

Max nodded and shuffled into the house. He heard the Sadie and Sullivan muttering to each other; probably to make sure Max couldn’t hear them. I gazed around the room. It was fairly well-lit. It even had a wall made of glass so that people could look outside, into the large garden they had. It was the biggest property he’d ever seen. There were hedges and many different kinds of roses and plants everywhere. It looked like organized chaos. It was messy, but everything looked like it belonged. 

The interior looked old and worn, a black couch in front of a large flat screen TV hung up on the wall. There were multiple pictures hung up on the walls of a bunch of different kids and Sadie. They were probably the kids she’s fostered. One picture in particular caught his attention. It was of Preston standing beneath a tree with another kid. He looked pretty happy. Max had some sort of understanding of why Preston was here. His grandma  _ was _ pretty old.

Sadie walked into the house, Sullivan waving goodbye as she gently closed the door. Max kept his emotionless stare on the picture

“Preston!” Sadie called. Max heard quick steps down the stairs. Preston leaned against the railing at the second to last step.

“Yes?” He asked, smiling softly.

“I have someone here who wants to see you,” Sadie said, motioning to Max. Max didn’t dare take his gaze away from the picture. 

Preston raised an eyebrow and looked in Max’s direction, letting out an audible gasp, “ _ Max? _ ”

Max put on a sarcastic smile and turned to Preston, casually waving, “Hey.”

“What are you doing here?” Preston asked, clearly dumbfounded. 

“Uh, living?” Max said, it was meant to be sarcasm, but it sounded more like a question.

Preston rolled his eyes, “What I meant was,” he said, hesitating. “Uh, you have parents?”

“Yeah, they left. I’ve been living with David for the past few months.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not,” He said, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m serious," Max said bluntly. Preston looked confused, he opened his mouth so say something, but Max quickly cut him off. “I’m also serious when I say that David is dead.”

It was dead silent for about three minutes, Preston's eyes were wide, his mouth was slightly open. “What- David's… Dead?” Preston's voice was quieter than usual.

“That’s what I said, right?” Max said, looking at the floor. Preston didn’t answer. He pursed his lips.

The silence was disrupted by Sadie clearing her throat. “Preston, why don't you show Max to his room?”

“Oh, right, of course!” Preston exclaimed, all signs of grief had vanished. “You’re sharing a room with me, by the way!”

Max groaned, “Lead me away, theatre nerd.”

Preston chuckled happily and grabbed Max’s wrist, pulling him up the stairs, earning a small yelp from him.

Preston entered a room and Max was bombarded with posters on one half of the room of multiple different musicals, like Hamilton, Be More Chill, all of the popular, current stuff along with a few things that Max couldn’t recognize. 

Max looked around the room. A neat, but messily made bed was on the side with all of the posters. That was probably Prestons bed. There was a lump in the sheets, and Max saw the tip of a… body pillow? He couldn’t elaborate on if that was a body pillow of not because Preston quickly pulled the blanket over it.

“Was… was that a body pillow?” Max asked, pointing at the lump in the bed. 

Prestons eyes widened slightly but he waved his hands, “I have no idea what you're talking about. I would never own something like a  _ body pillow _ .”

Max raised his eyebrows, like hell he was going to believe that  _ Preston,  _ of all people doesn’t own a body pillow. “Yeah, sure, you  _ don’t _ own a body pillow.”

“I _ don’t  _ own a _ body pillow,  _ and that’s _ final,”  _ Preston huffed, angrily crossing his arms over his chest.

Max wasn’t exactly in the mood to argue, so he just shrugged it off. That is, until, he found a  _ shrine  _ in the corner of Preston's side of the room. It was a dark, wooden box with multiple candles placed around it. He knit his eyebrows and looked at Preston in disbelief.

“Okay, so, I  _ might  _ have a shrine in here,” Preston said, grimacing slightly, scratching the nape of his neck.

“Jesus christ, Preston,” Max muttered, massaging his temples. “I’m not even gonna ask. I’ll just  _ pretend that isn’t there.” _

Preston nodded. They stood in silence for a little while before Preston decided to pipe up, “that’s your bed, by the way. In case you, uh, didn’t know.”

Preston was pointing to the bed on the other side of the room. That side was extremely plain, but, then again, why wouldn’t it be?

Max huffed and made his way to the bed and sat down, letting out a loud squeak. Max cringed, muttering a few things under his breath.

“Well, the beds aren’t the best, but at least you’re not sleeping on the floor,” Preston said, shrugging slightly. 

“ _ Jesus,”  _ Max muttered, flopping on his back, earning another squeak from the bed. “Yeah, sure. Bed: good, Floor: bad.”

Preston giggled and smiled at him, sitting down on his own bed, being careful not to sit on the ‘not-body-pillow,’ and just watched Max. He seemed so calm compared to when they were at camp. For once, Max wasn’t yelling. Neither was Preston.

However, the silence of Max made Preston ever so slightly uncomfortable. It just didn’t feel right to him to see someone he’d known to be extremely rude and loud to be so quiet. He was still kinda rude, Preston wasn't going to deny the sarcastic aspect of Max’s personality, but it was extremely toned down. 

Preston had a burning question that wouldn’t leave him alone, so, he decided he should ask the fateful question. “Hey, um, Max?”

“What,” Max grunted.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did David… die?” Max was dead silent for so long. He didn’t move and he didn’t even look like he was breathing. The only way he could tell that Max didn’t just die out of nowhere was because he heard him snuffle, it was extremely quiet, but he heard it clear as day and the thought that Max was  _ crying  _ hit him like a truck. He didn’t mean to make him cry, he didn’t want him to cry, hell, he’d rather have Max insulting his plays over  _ this _ . “It’s completely fine of you don't want to answer! I’d understand if you didn’t want to talk about it!”

Max sighed and propped himself up on his elbows, looking at him glumly. There were tear stains along his cheeks, Preston visibly tensed. He’s never seen Max like this before and he never wanted to see him like this again. Not ever. 

“Hitman,” Max said bluntly.

“I-what?” Preston asked, not being able to think completely straight.

“Cameron Campbell hired a hitman to murder David for him,” Max explained.

“Campbell did this?”

“Well, there’s not any proof right now, but that’s not gonna stop me from blaming him for it,” Max said, clearly getting more angry. Preston opened his mouth to say something before being cut off by Max. “And, no, you will  _ not  _ make a play about this right now.”

Preston pursed his lips and nodded quickly, “of course not, I would never.”

“Yeah, right, of course you fuckin’ wouldn’t. The theatre geek: not making a play is his specialty.”

“If you aren’t okay with it, I won't make it.”

Max didn’t reply. He stared at Preston solemnly before lying down and turning his back towards him, hugging his own pillow. 

“Yeah, you can rest for a little while. You’re probably tired from all the,” Preston searched for the right words before using jazz hands, “ _ Drama.” _

Max let out a half-hearted chuckle. Preston let a small smile grace his features.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! I apparently didnt upload the chapter by accident yesterday!! I'm so sorry about that!  
> I'm also not very happy with how I wrote Preston, so, if you have any advice, PLEASE SAY IT!  
> I accept all constructive criticism, since I do consider myself a beginner when it comes to writing!!


	9. Chapter 9

Max groggily sat up and was greeted with being completely blinded by the light as he blinked away the pain in his eyes. He looked around the room, expecting to see David kneeling down, trying to wake him up, unfortunately, he was greeted with Preston's posters and, now uncovered, body pillow. Max sighed and pursed his lips, looking around for his duffel bag, which was sitting at the foot of his bed. He leaned down from his bed, unzipping it and pulling out his bear, Mr. Honey Nuts. The door slammed open, causing Max to yelp and shove his bear back into his back, covering it with his hands.

“MAX!” Preston yelled, a large simile plastered across his face.

“PRESTON WHAT IN THE FRESH HELL ARE YOU DOING,” Max screamed, his hands still shoved in his bag, hiding his bear. 

“CHECKING TO SEE IF YOU WERE AWAKE ” Preston replied.

“WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING ” Max screamed.

“BECAUSE YOU WERE SCREAMING,” Preston countered.

“I'M ONLY SCREAMING BECAUSE YOU WERE SCREAMING,” Max yelled, pointing to him accusingly, continuing to hide the bear with his other hand.

 ”I WASN'T SCREAMING,” Preston exclaimed. He was screaming.

Max let out a frustrated groan. “Okay, fine, sure. What do you want.”

“I just wanted to tell you that breakfast is ready,” Preston said, his voice still loud, but majorly toned down from the screaming that had recently occurred. Max stayed quiet for a few seconds, Preston watched him expectantly.

“I’ll.. I’ll be down there in a minute, you can go on ahead without me.” Max said, his gaze trailing down into his bag.

“Are you feeling alright?” Preston asked, knitting his brows.

Max snapped his gaze up to Preston,  ”Just peachy. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Preston huffed and nodded reluctantly, leaving the room and gently closing the door behind him. 

Max looked back down at his bear, gently lifting it out of his bag and sitting back on his bed, staring at it. It had a lot of stitches on it, but the stitches that made the bears smile wider always caught his attention the most. he huffed as he got sucked into the past that he’d be better off forgetting.

  
  


_  ”Uh,” Max started, holding his precious, ripped up bear behind his back, “David?” _

_ “Yes, Max?” David said, smiling softly as he turned to look at him. _

_ “I need your help,”  Max said cautiously, shifting his weight. _

_  ”Of course! What do you need help with?”  David asked, his smile widening with happiness. _

_ Max pulled Mr. Honey Nuts from behind his back and presented it to David, a little bit of stuffing falling out of it and onto the floor. David let out a gasp as he reached out to take the bear, but stopped, looking at Max as if asking for permission. Max nodded for him, nervously biting his inner lip as David gently lifted Mr. Honey Nuts from his grasp. He nearly reached for it due to instinct, but he stopped himself, trying to convince himself that he could trust David, and that he was going to help him, not harm him.  _

_ “What happened to it?” David said, keeping his gaze on Mr. Honey Nuts.  _

_ “Oh, um, my parents didn’t like me having it,” Max muttered, looking at the floor, glancing at David, who was giving him a confused look. “They said I was too old for it and kept trying to take it away from me.. It wasn’t only them, either. It was a few people at school that found it in my backpack.” _

_ “Oh, Max,” David said, trailing off. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” _

_ “It’s fine, I got used to it,” Max muttered _

_ “No! Not fine! You shouldn’t be used to something like that, especially since you're so young!” _

_ “Yeah, whatever, just help me out so I can go back to my room,” Max grumbled, crossing his arms. _

_ David sighs, “Right, right. I’m sorry if that was a sensitive subject for you.” _

_ Max didn’t reply, he merely watched David as he stared at the ripped up bear. “What did you want me to do?” _

_ “You know how to sew, right?” Max inquired.  _

_ “Indeed I do! I’m guessing you want me to patch this guy up?” David said, smiling as he pointed to the bear.  _

_ “No, I want you to get a needle and thread and sew your lips shut so I never have to hear your pre-pubetic voice again,” Max said with a blank expression. _

_ “Fix the bear it is,” David said, setting Mr. Honey Nuts on a counter and walking to a nearby cabinet and getting out a needle and two spools of thread: one black and one brown. He walked back to the bear, threading the needle with the brown thread, pushing the stuffing back into it and pushing the two sides together, sticking the needle through both sides of the ripped fabric and stitching it together, moving on to different rips in the bear, ending with the rip in the mouth. Max subconsciously gripped David's arm. David changed the thread from the brown to the black and pinched the ripped sides closed, preparing to stitch them together. _

_ Max bit the inside of his lip as he watched as David concentrated on getting the mouth right. _

_ “Be careful!” Max exclaimed, slightly pushing his arm, earning a yelp from David. David stared at the bear with wide eyes and pursed lips. He made a few more stitches in the bear and then cut off the excess thread and tied the thread to keep it from becoming undone. He continued to stare at it wide eyed before turning to Max, beaming and presenting Mr. Honey Nuts to Max. _

_ “Look! He has a bigger smile now!” David giggled as Max gently took the bear in his hands, a small smile making his way onto his face. _

_ “Yeah, I guess so,” He muttered. _

 

He was brought back to reality when he felt arms wrap around his small frame. He blinked back oncoming tears and looked at whoever was hugging him.

“Sadie?” Max said, choking back a sob. Sadie nodded and pulled away from the hug, keeping her hands on his shoulders. “What’re you doing?”

“Preston came in here to check on you. He came and got me when he said you weren’t responding to him, tears streaming down your face,” Sadie explained.

Max knit his eyebrows and reached a hand up to his cheek, damp with tears. He snuffled and looked at the doorway where Preston was standing, slightly hiding behind the frame with a worried expression. Max sighed and looked at the floor.

“I’m fine,” Max muttered, drying his cheek with his sleeve.

“Why don't you come downstairs for breakfast?” Sadie asked, smiling sweetly at him, like a mother's smile. It was sweet and protective.

“I’m not hungry,” Max muttered, glancing at her, but quickly looking away to avoid eye contact. 

Sadie sighed. “Listen, I know how hard it is to lose someone close to you,” she put her hands on his cheeks and forced him to look at her. “I know how difficult it is to get back on your feet, but you need to try, if not for me, then for David, and if not for David, then for Preston. Okay, Max?”

Max knitted his brows, pursing his lips. He pushed her hands away and blinked back his tears. Max muttered weakly, “Fine, but I’m only doing this because you’re forcing me to.”

Sadie smiled in quiet triumph and straightened up, she held her hand out for him to take it. Max didn’t take it. He stood up on his own, gently setting down Mr. Honey Nuts on the table, and followed Sadie out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems you've caught up with me! Expect either slower updates, shorter chapters, or both
> 
> Flashback was inspired by a comic I've seen


	10. Chapter 10

Preston was still cowering behind the doorframe, watching him. Max stopped in front of him and stared at him blankly. Preston smiled nervously. 

“I don't need your help,” Max muttered, tipping his head upward to intensify his glare. Preston knitted his brows, opening his mouth to say something, but quickly closing it. “I’m fine on my own, so just.. stop trying to help me. It won't work.”

Preston pursed his lips in confusion, he was just trying to help, why was Max getting angry with him? He deemed it fit not to argue with Max right now. He clearly wasn’t doing too good- mental-wise, that is.

Max sneered at him and turned to follow Sadie, who was already halfway down the stairs, looking up at them, waiting for them both to follow her. Max shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at all of the pictures as he walked down the steps. Some were just kids, other were just of the scenery— which painfully reminded Max of David— and the rest were of Sadie and other kids throughout the years, in some, she looked young, a playful glimmer in her eyes, shining brightly throughout every single picture. The one feature that never changes. The liveliness in her eyes was shared with every other kid she’d taken a picture of. 

Max huffed and gripped David’s phone that he safely kept in his sweater pocket. He missed that happy son of a bitch. He reached the kitchen to find a plate of extremely appealing looking food. He felt his mouth water at the sight. It was simple, a couple pancakes topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries that were cut in small slices. Next to the plate was a small cup of what looked to be chocolate milk. 

Sadie pulled out the chair and motioned for him to come and sit down. He sighed and made his way to the chair and sat down. Sadie effortlessly pushed his chair in and sat in the seat across from him. 

Max eyed the food hungrily. He glanced at Sadie, who was smiling at him, and picked up the stainless steel fork, which glinted in the light and shined right in his eyes, causing him to instantly wince, Sadie chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. Max huffed angrily and looked at the fork in his hand, the weight of said utensil, he was unused to. He had to use plastic forks for the past couple month because David didn’t have very much money when he got the house, so he had to get the cheaper versions of things, however, there was one thing that always confused Max. He always bought silly straws no matter how little money he had. It must be the weirdest thing to sell silly straws to an adult man. 

He shrugged off the thought and stabbed his pancakes and hit the plate, making a fairly loud noise of metal against glass. He winced at the abrupt noise and glanced at Sadie, who was still watching him. Probably to make sure he actually ate something.

He cut into the pancakes and shoved a piece that was nearly too big into his mouth. The taste was too good to be true. It was sweet, but the perfect amount of sweet and sour, the sour part being the strawberries, the sweet being the whipped cream and pancake. 

Long story short, he finished the food in about two to three minutes. Sadie found it funny how much Max seemed to like her cooking. It wasn't a very eventful day, but the news was definitely tiring.

It was early evening, Max was sitting on the couch (Preston was sitting on the opposite side, happily reading what seemed to be something by Shakespeare), searching through David's phone. He went through his contacts first, and the fact the David had parents dawned on him and he nearly had a heart attack at the realization. Max was never introduced to them, and David never really talked about his family that much. 

He realized how hard it must be for his parents to find that their own child was shot right in the heart. Max hadn’t entirely grasped the thought of parental love, but he knew it was a very strong emotional bond between most families; especially between a mother and her child.

“Hey, Max,” Sadie said softly, sitting down next to him, blocking Preston from view. “I need to talk to you.”

“I’m busy,” Max said, not taking his gaze away from the phone.

“It’s about David, I thought you might be interested,” Sadie said quickly. Preston knitted his eyebrows slightly and looked up from his book of Shakespearean trash that Max could never completely understand. “In fact, I think you’d be interested in it as well, Preston,” Sadie said, turning towards Preston and beckoning him over.

Preston switched from his curled up position to a normal sitting one and scooted over to them. Sadie placed both of her hands on Max’s and Preston’s backs, in a motherly way, of course. 

She took in a sharp breath before starting, “As you know, David is gone, and when someone’s body stops working, we humans so a thing called funerals-“

“Yeah, no shit, we aren’t two. Get on with it,” Max grumbled.

“She’s only trying to lie it out for us without harming us, let her finish,” Preston said softly.

“Well I’m  _ sorry  _ if I don't want to be treated like a fucking toddler,” Max snapped, crossing his arms.

Preston was about to protest, but was quickly cut off by Sadie, “Calm down, you two. Let me finish.”

“Of course,” Preston nodded.

“Okay, like I was saying, a funeral is planned for David tomorrow to free his soul from the shackles of the human world,” Sadie finished.

“Why’d you have to explain it like that?” Max inquired.

“I just stated it as it is,” Sadie shrugged. 

“You made it sound like the world was some sort of prison,” Max said, raising an eyebrow. Sadie merely shrugged. Max gave her a confused look and muttered something under his breath, “Weirdo.”

Sadie sighed, “We’re going to the funeral at noon, I’ll try to wake you up early.”

And that was it. Not another word was said for the rest of the night. Not a single thing escaped from Max’s mouth, not an insult, not a rare compliment, not nothing. He lie awake that night, not being able to tell if his mind was blank, or running too quickly to tell. Something felt missing, it was bothering him so badly. He turned to the phone and turned it on, squinting his eyes at the new light in the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, the progress on this story is going slower than I'd hoped it would!  
> Tell me if you find any mistakes! Most of this story is unedited!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Preston have a chat and Sadie gets on Max’s nerves.

The clock read ‘12:46.’ He huffed and abruptly sat up in his bed, causing a loud squeaking noise, which then caused Preston to stir in his sleep. Max watched him for a minute, looking for any sort of consciousness. He looked down at his palms, both of which rested in his lap.

He knitted his eyebrows and softly called to Preston, “Hey, Preston, are you awake?”

Preston stirred and pulled the blanket closer to him, “What?” His voice was slightly hoarse.

“Is it weird to want to die?” Max asked softly.

Preston sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked at Max. “No,” Preston answered plainly.

“How do you know?”

“Remember all those times Nurf would beat me up at camp?” Preston asked,

“Yeah”

“Every single time when he’d throw a punch at my stomach, my face, my arms, my legs, it would hurt so badly, and, in the moment, I’d think to myself how much I wanted to die. I wanted the pain to be over and death was the only option I could think of,” Preston explained, frowning, and looking at his own lap.

“It was that bad?” Max uttered, tearing his gaze from his hands and settling it on Preston. He had tufts of brown, matted hair falling onto his face, covering his eyes which were starting to well up with tears, his irises that once shone like the sun now look dull, like the aftermath of the death of the great star. Preston looked at Max and nodded. “God, I..” Max cut himself off, hesitating. How was he supposed to respond to this? He knew Preston would get beat up all the time by Nurf, but he didn’t think of how badly it actually affected him. Preston stared at him for a few seconds longer, before quietly chuckling, a solumn smile on his face.

“It’s fine, everything’s alright now! I don’t even think Nurf is anywhere close to me anymore. i used theater as my ‘coping method,’ too. i took out all of my feelings there, which helped a little. it was my special sanctuary.”

Max pursed his lips, looking away. “I think.. I’m going to sleep.”

Preston nodded, “Yeah, it’s late. We have the funeral tomorrow anyways.”

Max flopped down on his bed, looking at the ceiling, arms outstretched. Mr. Honeynuts sat next to him, just under his arm. He felt a pang of dread in his heart as he slowly closed his eyes

 

-

 

Max woke up to the sound of birds and being violently shaken. He slapped the hands away from him before opening his eyes to the face of Preston, he looked sad,

“What do you want.”

“Breakfast is downstairs. Sadie wanted me to wake you up,” Preston replied, moving away from Max’s bed as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“She also wanted me to remind you that the fune-“

“Shut up,” Max interrupted, shooting him a cold glare before realizing that something other than Prestons solemn expression was off. He wasn’t wearing his normal theatre costume, but a long-sleeve button up shirt and black slacks. He was even wearing dress shoes. Max groaned, shoving his face into his hands.

“Whats wrong?” Preston asked, feeling a little self-conscious after Max literally looking at him and groaning. He looked down at himself, patting down any wrinkles in confusion.

“Please don't tell me I have to wear that kind of outfit too,” Max mumbled into his hands.

Preston looked down at his outfit, chuckling, “Oh. Yes, sorry. Sadie wants us to wear something nice.”

“But wouldn’t _David_ prefer it if we dressed as ourselves?” Max said coldly, adding and emphasis on the dead man's name. “He always wanted us to ‘express ourselves’ didn’t he?”

“Max, please, just do what Sadie asks, it’s not that hard,” Preston said, a slight sneer on his face. “ _David_ would’ve dressed nicely to your funeral, wouldn’t he?”

He would. Max knew this; David dressed properly for important occasions like this. It seems that his own way of thinking had been twisted against him as some torture method. A look of pain drifted across his face, but quickly contorted into a look of anger. he scoffed and pursed his lips, looking away, towards the wall his bed was up against, then down to his clenched fists.

“ _fine_ ,” Max snapped, tightly shutting his eyes, his expression shifting into a sneer. “i’ll wear the stupid clothes, but i’m not gonna be happy about it.”

Preston let out a soft sigh of relief. he slowly placed one hand in his pant pocket, reaching the other one out to pat Max’s shoulder, but his efforts were, to put it in a literal sense, swatted away. he looked at Max in pity before making his unnervingly quiet exit, closing the door behind him.

Max watched Preston leave, his anger vanishing by the second. he slipped out of bed and stared at the neatly folded clothes in front of him. the black pants were slightly off color, but otherwise completely clean, only having a few specks of fuzz here and there. he brushed them off before pulling them off of the bed. the pure white button up rested below the pants, also neatly folded. a long sigh escaped Max’s nostrils as he began changing into the clothes.

 

 

footsteps echoed throughout the otherwise quiet house as Max slowly made his way down the agonizing stairs and towards the dining room.

at first, he cracked open the door to the dining room and peeled through. he took notice of Sadie first, and he assumed she was just talking to Preston, seeing as there wasn’t really anyone else to talk to in this place. once he peeked further in, he noted that his suspicions were correct. Preston sat there with his head hanging low, looking at his plate of food, nodding in response to whatever Sadie was saying to him.

he slowly began to retreat out of the doorway, out of the dining room, and away from Preston and Sadie, but a loud creak was omitted from the old door hinges. Max immediately cringed at the sound and both Sadie and Prestons heads turned towards the door. both of them had different reactions. Preston blankly looked back at his food and began poking at it with his fork, whereas Sadie’s face immediately lit up and she put on a warm smile.

“Max! i’m glad you’re here!” Sadie said, getting up from her seat. “your food is in the kitchen. let me go warm it up a little while you take a seat at the table.”

“i can eat it cold.” Max stated bluntly, not moving from his place, looking through the small opening in the door. “i don’t care.”

Sadie stared at him for a moment, knitting her eyebrows in confusion before waving her hand. “no, no, nonsense.” she moved over to Max and opened the door so she could usher him into the dining room and next to the closest seat at the table. “you sit here and i’ll go warm up your food.” she lightly patted his back and trotted into the kitchen, leaving Preston and Max alone yet again.

Max glanced at Preston a few times, but other than that, they didn’t make any effort of contact or communication with each other. the room was completely and utterly quiet; devoid of all sound except for the light tapping of Preston’s fork against his thick glass plate whenever he skewered something. Max ignored it and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, kicking his short legs as he waited. he briefly expected David to burst back through the door, sliding his plate over to him with a big dorky smile on his face. instead, he was met with small dainty hands gently placing the plate full of food in front of him. he felt a twinge of disappointment pulling on his heartstrings but he forced it away. forced himself to become numb to his surroundings, hoping that nobody could see through this façade he’s tried so hard to keep up.

he couldn’t break, not now. not here. not ever.

something interrupted his thoughts. the feeling of someone shoving something into his shirt collar. he immediately focused back on reality to find Sadie neatly placing a soft napkin in his shirt, like those people in movies do at restaurants. it felt like a bib and made him feel like more of a child than he already was.

“what the _fuck_ , Sadie—“ Max exclaimed, tugging at the napkin.

“it’s just so that you don’t spill anything on your new shirt! we wouldn’t want it stained when we leave, now would we?” Sadie responded, a sickeningly sweet tone in her voice, and a soft smile altering her features as she looked down at him.

“this is bullshit, i’m not gonna spill anything.”

“well, you never know! i’m just taking precautions.”

“fuck your precautions. i'm not wearing a bib.” Max pulled out the napkin and forcefully pushed it onto the table. he grabbed his fork and started eating in an attempt to both distract himself, and have an excuse to not talk to Sadie, who had slowly sat back down in her seat and started softly talking again.

Max glanced over at Preston, who had been staring at them as the entire thing went down. “oh, fuck off Preston,” Max said as he shoveled another bite of food into his mouth.

“Max. i think you should watch your language,” Sadie said, her voice firmer than it usually was.

Max merely mimicked her in an annoyingly high pitched voice and continued eating his breakfast as Sadie watched him, expression spelling out the word “pity.” he ignored her, and eventually finished his food and immediately left.

Preston left not too long before him, but he was nice enough to put his plate into the sink, while Max had just left it sitting on the dining table for Sadie to pick up, crumbs scattered here and there. as he began to rush up the stairs, Sadie called out his name, causing him to stop in his tracks and slowly turn around to face her.

“come here please!” She called out, beckoning him into the living room. Max hesitantly obliged and stood in front of her, leaving an uncomfortable amount of space between them. “you didn’t tuck your shirt in.”

Max frowned, knitting his eyebrows. “yeah, so?”

“it looks better if it’s tucked in. we are going to a formal event, after all.” Sadie explained, crossing her arms over her chest.

“why can’t you just be happy that i even put your stupid fucking clothes on,” Max scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Max.” Sadie warned, tapping her foot. He huffed and gripped the hem of the front of his shirt, promptly shoving them down his pants, doing same thing around until there was no shirt left to mercilessly shove. he opened his arms, “is this up to your standards, your highness?”

Sadie huffed, “yes. thank you, Max.” she unfolded her arms and looked at a nearby clock hanging on the wall. “it’s almost time to go. i’ll go get ready, and then we’ll be on our way. how does that sound?”

she looked at Max, who had sat down on the couch, expecting an answer from him, only to be met with silence.

Preston glanced at the two before clearing his throat and speaking up, “that’s a perfect plan. thank you, Sadie.”

Sadie smiled thankfully at him, nodding her head before striding to her own room to get ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey!  
> after nearly an entire year, i’ve gotten some inspiration back to finally update this story. 
> 
> if you’re still reading and interested in this little thing, then kudos to you, honestly! thank you so much!
> 
> i appreciate all of the love and comments i get on this, and it just makes me so happy to see how this story is making the reader feel.
> 
> i, of course, already know the basic gist of the story and have a vague idea of where i’m going with it, so there aren’t very many surprises for me in this other than the feedback i get for my writing.
> 
> i’ve looked back on some of the things i’ve already written in the story, and cringe at either the way i wrote it, or how terribly obvious i made something.
> 
> anyways, i hope you’re still enjoying this— this chapter was maybe just a tad boring, but next chapter will most definitely include the funeral and will, most likely, be uploaded in a shorter amount of time than this chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> Maxvid is NOT a part of this story and is NOT tolerated on my account, or anywhere for that matter. Please refrain from claiming otherwise. I don't enjoy arguments and I never like being a part of them unless completely necessary.


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